Tributes pour in for Miss Oxygen

Social media has reacted to the death of Gontlafetse Sehako, 30, commonly known as Miss Oxygen.

Miss Oxygen had a rare disease called pulmonary hypertension.

A health website, Mayo Clinic explains pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in your lungs and the right side of your heart.

In one form of pulmonary hypertension, tiny arteries in your lungs, called pulmonary arterioles, and capillaries become narrowed, blocked or destroyed. This makes it harder for blood to flow through your lungs, and raises pressure within your lungs’ arteries.

As the pressure builds, your heart’s lower right chamber (right ventricle) must work harder to pump blood through your lungs, eventually causing your heart muscle to weaken and fail.

Sehako lived with the disease since 2011. She had been able to live a healthy lifestyle with the help of a long-term domiciliary oxygen therapy which she had to carry everywhere.

Despite her physical limitations, Sehako helped spread awareness about about her illness with her 63 000 followers.

Her journey has not be easy. In March 2019, she took to social media to plead for help after her portable oxygen cylinder was damaged. South Africa will remember her for bravery and willingness to fight.